Department of Resources

David Laws: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was spent on running costs for the Department of Resources and its predecessors in each year from 2005-06 to 2008-09; what estimate has been made of such costs in 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The direct running costs of the Department of Resources and its predecessor the Department of Finance and Administration have been:
	
		
			  £ 000 
			   Actual  Forecast 
			 2005-06 7,596 - 
			 2006-07 6,860 - 
			 2007-08 7,939 - 
			 2008-09 8,753 - 
			 2009-10 8,753 9,922 
		
	
	These figures include staff and directly related accommodation costs, but not other expenditure managed on behalf of the House as a whole. They also exclude ICT infrastructure costs which are managed jointly by the parliamentary ICT for both Houses.
	Fluctuations in expenditure represent organisational and other work changes that have arisen during the period. For example, the departmental ICT team was amalgamated into PICT on 1 January 2006, the Internal Audit team transferred to the Office of the Chief Executive on 1 January 2008, and there have been additional resources consumed recently because of FOI, Legg Review and other Member related work.

Back Office: Central Government

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the reasons for the cost of the finance function of his Department's core headquarters referred to in the publication Benchmarking the Back Office: Central Government; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: The cost of the finance function for the Ministry of Justice's headquarters is made up of:
	the costs of finance teams that provide support to a number of the MOJ's Directorates, including the corporate centre which provides support and challenge to the entire Department;
	the costs for transaction processing for the former Department for Constitutional Affairs parts of the Department (including HM Courts Service and the Tribunal Service) that are funded and managed through a central contract.
	The cost differences reflected in the publication 'Benchmarking the Back Office: Central Government' may have a number of causes including, as the report notes: "different bodies in central Government have very different business models to deliver their different services". I believe that, given the MOJ's business model, this level of headquarters expenditure is reasonable in supporting a wider business area and providing support and challenge to help the board and Ministers to achieve outcomes efficiently.
	The MOJ supports the work on benchmarking, and is working with other Government Departments to help us to better understand the variations in costs these data illustrate and to drive further efficiencies across the MOJ through the shared services programme started in July 2009. The MOJ also has in place plans, annexed to 'Putting the Frontline First', to improve the efficiency of both its finance and human resources functions across its headquarters, agencies and non-departmental public bodies. These include moving all human resources and finance transaction processing into a single shared service.

Convictions: Knives

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been  (a) charged and  (b) convicted of an offence of carrying a knife in each of the last five years.

Claire Ward: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to carrying a knife, England and Wales 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
	The Ministry of Justice do not collect charging data; proceeded against information has been provided in lieu.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to knife possession( 1) , England and Wales 2003 - 07( 2, 3) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 2003 6,928 5,396 
			 2004 7,352 5,890 
			 2005 7,319 6,005 
			 2006 7,699 6,369 
			 2007 7,404 6,169 
			 (1 )Includes the following offences and statutes; Having an article with blade or point in public place. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.3). Having an article with blade or point on school premises. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (1)(5)(a) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.4(1)). (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Prisoners Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners were released before their agreed release date in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many offences were committed by people released from prison in error in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many people released from prison in error were returned to prison in the latest period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: As at 21 January 2010, 54 prisoners were recorded as released in error when an authority to retain them in custody was in place. This figure covers the period between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2009.
	Most prisoners released in error are returned quickly to custody. Of those released in error during 2009 seven remain unaccounted for.
	Figures relating to offences committed by those at large following a release in error are not available centrally. Releases in error are reported to the police who are responsible for apprehending prisoners. Information on further offences committed could only be collated by contacting each prison and police force across England and Wales which would incur disproportionate cost.
	The number of releases in error is small, accounting for less than 0.05 per cent. of discharges from prison. All incidents are subject to investigation. There is no indication from the available information of any significant level of offending by prisoners who should have been in custody at the time.
	These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	The number of releases in error reported for 2009 may change should further incidents be reported.

Prisoners: Foreigners

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) male and  (b) female foreign national prisoners there are, broken down by (i) offence category and (ii) length of sentence.

Maria Eagle: The most recent data available relate to June 2009. The following tables give the numbers of  (a) male and  (b) female foreign national prisoners (FNPs) showing both (i) offence category and (ii) length of sentence.
	
		
			  Offence category  Male  Female  Total 
			 Violence against the person 1,588 53 1,640 
			 Sexual offences 881 11 892 
			 Robbery 605 6 611 
			 Burglary 292 8 300 
			 Theft and handling 265 56 322 
			 Fraud and forgery 779 149 928 
			 Drug offences 1,841 297 2,138 
			 Motoring offences 131 0 131 
			 Other offences 479 35 515 
			 Offence not recorded 23 2 25 
			 Total 6,884 618 7,502 
		
	
	
		
			  Sentence length  Male  Female  Total 
			 Less than or equal to six months 588 86 674 
			 Greater than six and less than 12 months 280 36 316 
			 12 months less to than four years 2,015 172 2,188 
			 Four years to less than life 2,973 301 3,273 
			 Indeterminate (including life) 1,028 24 1,052 
			 Total 6,884 618 7,502 
		
	
	In addition to the 7,502 sentenced prisoners, a further 3,848 were either untried, convicted unsentenced, a fine defaulter or non-criminals giving a total of 11,350.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Gender Identity Disorder

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2010,  Official Report, columns 789-90W, on gender identity disorder: prisoners, from whom the draft guidance on the treatment of prisoners with gender dysphoria is available for  (a) prisons and  (b) prisoners.

Maria Eagle: As was indicated in the previous answer given to the House on 11 January 2010,  Official Report column. 789-90W, the responsibility for the production of the draft guidance on the treatment, care and management of transsexual prisoners is split between officials in the Department of Health and Ministry of Justice but in the majority of instances where prison staff have requested advice these have been directed to the latter and more specifically officials in Safer Custody and Offender Policy Group in the National Offender Management Service. As the document is still in draft form it is not readily available for wider distribution beyond policy officials and prison staff but where necessary the advice and information contained within is made available to prisoner(s) who require it.

Prisons: Drugs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment his Department has made of the merits of  (a) maintenance and  (b) abstinence-based drug treatment programmes for prisoners.

Maria Eagle: Contracts are in place with two groups of researchers for evaluation of different aspects of the Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS)-this will include the impact of methadone maintenance in particular. The contracts were let in 2008 and each group of researchers will submit a final report by April 2012.
	All accredited drug treatment programmes available in prisons aim ultimately for abstinence and are based on good practice found in the community. Offenders in custody are subject to drug testing and usually receive a range of interventions and support aimed at reducing reoffending. It is practically difficult to pinpoint the precise effect of any one of these interventions on overall drug misuse or reoffending. Evaluations to date specifically of prison drug treatment programmes run in England and Wales are limited and have not always met the highest methodological standards. However, they suggest that accredited programmes can reduce reoffending (Ramsay, M. (ed) (2003) Prisoners' Drug Use and Treatment: Seven Research Studies. Home Office Research Study 267. London: Home Office). International evidence supports these findings.

Prisons: Mother and Baby Units

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many women prisoners have given birth since April 2009;
	(2)  how many women became pregnant while serving a prison sentence in the last year for which data is available.

Maria Eagle: Information on the number of women who have given birth in prison or became pregnant while serving a prison sentence is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as in order to provide this information staff would need to look at each individual's record.
	In addition, it would not be possible to guarantee the accuracy of the data about when women become pregnant as this would be reliant on information being provided by the prisoners themselves.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to respond to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report entitled Cold Comfort: the Administration of the 2005 Single Payment Scheme by the Rural Payments Agency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 19 January 2010
	The Department's views were relayed to the Parliamentary Ombudsman at various stages during the course of her investigations and are referred to in the report itself. A formal response will be made to any subsequent report the Public Administration Select Committee decides to produce on the issue.

Departmental Assets

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what departmental assets are planned to be sold in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11; what the (i) description and (ii) book value is of each such asset; what the expected revenue is from each such sale; and by what date each asset is expected to have been sold.

Dan Norris: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 11 January 2010,  Official Report, column 676W.
	The Government have stated its intention to realise £16 billion from asset and property sales over the period by 2013-14. On 7 December the Government published the "Operational Efficiency Programme: Asset Portfolio", setting out the next steps for the delivery of the £16 billion by 2013-14.
	DEFRA has approximately £6.9 million (book value £10.2 million) of surplus properties for disposal in 2009-10, arising from the sale of land, residential and office premises. Anticipated disposals from land and laboratory premises are expected to realise £9 million in 2010-11 (book value £8 million).
	Not all future asset disposals have been finalised, and for reasons of commercial sensitivity it is not possible to identify publicly each asset to be disposed of or to set out deadlines for sales as this can have a negative impact on values.
	DEFRA's latest published asset management strategy is available on its website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/how/busplan/spending-review/docs/asset-management-strategy.pdf
	The strategy is currently being updated following the creation of the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the transfer of certain functions from DEFRA to DECC, and it is planned that the new version of the strategy will be published in the spring.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies plan to sign up to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in 2010.

Dan Norris: DEFRA has a long term commitment to reduce its carbon emissions. Performance in 2008-09 shows that DEFRA's carbon emissions from offices has reduced by 18 per cent. on the 1999-2000 baseline, exceeding the 2010 Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) target by 6 per cent. Since 2006-07 the Department has delivered a reduction of 4 per cent. carbon emissions (year on year) from its estate through its Carbon Reduction Programme.
	DEFRA's achievements have been recognised through the award of the Carbon Trust Standard in May 2008, where the Department was one of the first 12 pathfinder organisations to receive the award. This built upon the earlier success of the Department achieving Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme (EEAS) status in July 2007. Both of these awards clearly demonstrate that DEFRA has an ongoing commitment to long term, year on year carbon emissions reductions.
	The Department is expecting to continue to deliver significant year on year savings, anticipated at as much as 6 per cent. year on year.
	A strategic long term investment plan allows the delivery of projects which provide long term benefits through reducing energy demand and minimising the need to reinvest in the short to medium term. To disrupt these long term plans in order to achieve 10:10 would impact negatively on DEFRA's ability to achieve its long term goals and would not deliver value for money. However, the combination of DEFRA's long term plans, a minimum 6 per cent. reduction in 2010 and a short term call to action all constitute a credible contribution to tackling climate change.
	In light of the above, achieving a 10 per cent. saving across the DEFRA Estate in a single year would require my Department to divert significant funds from its long term delivery plan; therefore The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its Executive Agencies have not signed up to the 10:10 campaign.

Departmental Pay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) year-end and  (b) in-year bonuses were paid to officials in his Department in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in such bonuses in each such year.

Dan Norris: An element of DEFRA's overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example by exceeding targets set or meeting challenging objectives.
	Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the SCS is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
	The following table details the number and the total amount of non-consolidated variable pay awards awarded under DEFRA's standard pay and performance management process for the three most recent performance years for which the relevant payments have been published in the Department's accounts.
	For DEFRA, the data cover staff at grade 6 and below in core-DEFRA and those Executive agencies covered by the core-Department's terms and conditions i.e. Animal Health, Veterinary Medicines Directorate and the Marine and Fisheries Agency. It also includes senior civil servants in core-DEFRA and its Executive agencies (Animal Health, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Rural Payments Agency, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the Central Science Laboratory-which is now part of the Food and Environment Research Agency, which was created on 1 April 2009.
	For those Executive agencies who operate delegated pay arrangements (Rural Payments Agency (RPA), Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and the Central Science Laboratory (CSL)-which is now part of the Food and Environment Research Agency, which was created on 1 April 2009 the data cover staff at grade 6 and below only.
	
		
			  Department  Number of staff who received a non-consolidated performance payment  Total amount of payments (£)  Wages and salaries for the year (£)  Non-consolidated performance payments as a percentage of wages and salaries 
			  Performance year 2005-06 
			 DEFRA 2,395 3,171,792 294,379,000 1.1 
			 VLA 251 39,120 39,485,000 0.1 
			 RPA 505 243,072 88,093,000 0.3 
			 CEFAS 511 566,766 16,881,000 3.3 
			 CSL 260 176,901 21,703,000 0.8 
			  
			  Performance year 2006-07 
			 DEFRA 1,959 3,235,664 252,501,000 1.3 
			 VLA 212 45,327 40,846,000 0.1 
			 RPA 813 425,417 99,667,000 0.4 
			 CEFAS 506 610,125 19,203,000 3.2 
			 CSL 328 233,049 22,127,000 1.1 
			  
			  Performance year 2007-08 
			 DEFRA 1,914 3,072,554 211,900,000 1.5 
			 VLA 226 47,409 40,028,000 0.1 
			 RPA 1,126 507,572 99,405,000 0.5 
			 CEFAS 496 773,747 19,160,000 3.9 
			 CSL 332 264,280 22,657,000 1.2 
		
	
	CEFAS has relatively higher non consolidated pay when compared as a percentage against the DEFRA network, because they have specifically worked to structure a total rewards package with a greater non consolidated pay element, that is directly performance based and must be re-earned each year. This places a greater link between performance and reward and while their percentage of non consolidated pay is larger than others this is more than offset by their consolidated pay (i.e. salaries) which is low relative to the DEFRA network and Whitehall.

Immobilisation of Vehicles: South East

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many cars have been impounded in  (a) Southend West constituency,  (b) Essex,  (c) the Metropolitan Police area of London and  (d) England and Wales in each year since 2005; and at what total cost in each case in each such year.

Paul Clark: It is not possible to provide the number of cars impounded or information by geographical area. A contract is in place to provide a wheel-clamping service, which may lead to impounding, on vehicles in the United Kingdom. The contract is on a fixed price bases for the entire service. Neither costs of impounding individual vehicles, nor costs of the operation within geographical locations are available.

Railways: Hunting

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department has taken following the incident on 31 December 2009 in which six foxhounds belonging to the Duke of Beaufort's hunt were killed by a high-speed passenger train near Wootton Bassett; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The day to day running of the railways, and their safety is a matter for rail operators and the Office of Rail Regulation as the independent rail safety regulator.
	The incident was included in the daily performance log submitted to the Department by the train operator involved. Aside from this, the Department is not involved in operational incidents of this nature (animals on the line).

Departmental Publications

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the  (a) total,  (b) production and  (c) staff cost was of the preparation and publication of his Department's White Paper on Scotland's Future in the United Kingdom; how many copies were printed; and to whom they were distributed.

Ann McKechin: The production cost of Scotland's Future in the United Kingdom, including typesetting, printing, binding, mailing and TSO fees was £5,968.39. The preparation of the White Paper was the work of civil servants employed in the Scotland Office as part of their normal duties and therefore incurred no additional cost. A total of 1,055 copies were printed; these were divided between the Scotland Office, Parliament and TSO. Of these 750 were used by the Scotland Office for laying in Parliament, distribution to stakeholders and internal departmental use.

Olympic Games 2012: Illegal Immigrants

Pete Wishart: To ask the Minister for the Olympics 
	(1)  how many arrests have been made of illegal immigrants working on the Olympic site since construction began;
	(2)  what checks the Government makes to ensure that employees working on the Olympic site are entitled to work in the UK;
	(3)  whether any companies working on the Olympic site have been fined for the employment of illegal immigrants since construction began.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	Between 1 April 2009 and 10 December 2009, 49 people have been arrested attempting to gain employment, or working specifically at the Olympic park and athletes' village sites, 40 of these were never actually employed at the sites.
	Prior to April 2009, no data exclusively for arrests on the Olympic park site is available. Arrest figures collected between April 2008 and March 2009 are for projects in Stratford and the surrounding area, and include the Olympic park and Olympic village. Only an aggregate figure is available for this period and a total of 138 foreign nationals seeking to gain employment or working at these locations (including the Stratford City Westfield development) were arrested on suspicion of working in the UK without permission or presenting false documentation during this time.
	These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols and should be treated as provisional and subject to change.
	The responsibility for ensuring employees have the right to work in the UK rests with the employer. Since April 2008, UKBA staff have been working with the Olympic Delivery Authority and contractors to support the site security process of checking that people employed on the Olympic park and athletes village hold genuine identity documents and are legally entitled to work in the UK.
	Three employers have been issued with Notices of Potential Liability for employing illegal workers and failing to carry out the appropriate checks to confirm that their employees are entitled to work in the UK. Two have been fined, one was found not to be liable.

Armed Forces: Housing

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of overseas  (a) single living accommodation and  (b) service family accommodation units are in each grade in each country.

Kevan Jones: Single living accommodation (SLA) is graded by its scale (this consists of a number of factors including size and amount of storage) as well as physical condition. The best available data indicates that as at October 2009, the following number and percentage of overseas SLA bed-spaces were at the each grade:
	
		
			   Grade 1  Grade 2  Grade 3  Grade 4 
			  Country  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Germany 2,146 16 1,137 8 3,553 26 6,773 50 
			 Cyprus 60 3 - - 247 14 1,460 83 
			 Gibraltar - - 249 81 - - 60 19 
			 South Atlantic Islands 2 - - - - - 2,374 100 
			 Rest of world 70 8 13 1 60 7 736 84 
			 UK (as at December 2008)(1) 34,933 25 19,498 14 22,101 16 60,745 45 
			 (1) The UK SLA figures, included for comparison purposes, are for the number of bed-spaces at each 'condition grade' rather than 'Grade for Charge'. 
		
	
	Service family accommodation (SFA) is assessed for standard for condition (SfC), a measure of the physical condition of a property. The best available data indicates that as at October 2009, the following number and percentage of overseas SFA properties were at each SfC:
	
		
			   S1fC  S2fC  S3fC  S4fC 
			  Country  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Germany 3,766 33 2,948 26 3,590 31 1,146 10 
			 Cyprus 224 10 410 19 50 2 1,503 69 
			 Gibraltar 163 37 24 5 70 16 184 42 
			 South Atlantic Islands 15 16 22 23 49 50 11 11 
			 Rest of world 222 19 526 46 393 34 4 1 
			 UK (as at December 2009) 12,718 38 19,689 59 1,034 3 204 Less than 1

NATO

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made to the hon. Member for Ashfield on NATO's  (a) nuclear policy and  (b) New Strategic Concept Group; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: My right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) has been appointed to the Group of Experts advising on NATO's new Strategic Concept by Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in an independent capacity. Mr. Hoon is able to draw on support from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the full range of issues associated with this work.

Trident Submarines

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the likely effects on life extension of Vanguard-class submarines should continuous at-sea deterrence cease.

Quentin Davies: The Government remain committed to the policy of Continuous At Sea Deterrence, as set out in the 2006 White Paper "The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994). The 2006 White Paper indicated that it might be possible to extend the life of the current submarines by five years and these studies are ongoing, based on the operating posture of Continuous At Sea Deterrence.

Warships: Shipbuilding

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the  (a) Astute and  (b) Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 25 January 2010
	The Major Projects Report 2009 reported delays to the Astute Class Programme which will lead to cost growth and reduction in planned submarine availability. Of the seven planned Astute Class submarines the first four boats have been ordered. Boat 1 (Astute) is currently undergoing an extensive programme of Sea Trials while Boats 2 to 4 (Ambush, Artful and Audacious) are in various stages of construction. Orders for long lead items for Boat 5 and the reactor core for Boat 6 have also been placed.
	Following the delays, work to re-baseline the Astute Programme is ongoing and the final impact on both the overall programme and individual boat build profile can only be confirmed once detailed joint planning and cost analysis work has been completed and MOD investment and HM Treasury re-approval has been obtained.
	A competition for the Tanker element of the MARS Programme was originally started in late 2007. The competition was cancelled in March 2009 and subsequent work to review the procurement strategy concluded that a more open approach, considering a range of possible solutions is more likely to secure best value for money. A new international competition for the Tanker element of MARS is therefore under way and Pre-Qualification Questionnaires from a number of companies/consortia are currently being evaluated. This work is nearing completion and, once internal MOD approval to proceed to the next stage of the competition has been granted, invitations to submit outline proposals will be issued; this is expected to be during spring 2010. On current plans the contract is due to be awarded in 2012.
	The later classes of MARS ships, Fleet Solid Support and Amphibious Combat Support, remain uncommitted at this stage.

Algeria: Overseas Aid

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department allocated to Algeria in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006,  (c) 2007,  (d) 2008 and  (e) 2009.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a bilateral programme in Algeria and has not allocated any aid to the country between 2005 and 2009.
	Details of DFID's aid expenditure in developing countries are published annually in Statistics on International Development, which is available in the House Library or online at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Haiti: Overseas Aid

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid the Government have provided to Haiti in each year since 1997; for what purposes; and with which non-governmental organisations his Department has worked in Haiti over this period.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID's) aid expenditure is published annually in Statistics on International Development, which is available in the House Library and at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk
	The relevant figures for Haiti are reproduced in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			  UK Financial year  Total UK bilateral aid  Total UK imputed multilateral aid 
			 1997-98 124,788 2,201,626 
			 1998-99 59,225 2,015,828 
			 1999-2000 16,209 7,837,425 
			 2000-01 60,562 681,563 
			 2001-02 130,395 3,787,737 
			 2002-03 125,165 29,929,110 
			 2003-04 129,747 5,065,698 
			 2004-05 2,027,103 7,139,048 
			 2005-06 1,282,616 19,790,351 
			 2006-07 446,153 7,859,963 
			 2007-08 0 14,377,519 
			 2008-09 823,599 (1)- 
			 2009-10 (2)735,000 (1)- 
			 (1) Not yet available. (2) These figures are provisional and only include spend up to 12 January 2010. 
		
	
	In addition to these annual figures the UK has pledged £20 million in emergency assistance since the earthquake of 12 January 2010.
	The majority of the UK's support to Haiti has been through multilateral channels, such as the United Nations (UN) agencies, the European Commission (EC) and World Bank. DFID does not have a regular bilateral programme for medium and long term development in Haiti. However bilateral aid has been provided for humanitarian purposes and debt relief.
	Since 1997 DFID has supported work in Haiti by the following non-governmental organisations: Fonkoze, Oxfam, Handicap International, Action against Hunger, ActionAid, Catholic Aid for Overseas Development (CAFOD), CARE International, Christian Aid, Ethical Training Initiative, HelpAge International, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Oxfam, Panos, Progressio and Transparency International.

Haiti: Overseas Aid

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much emergency aid has been provided to Haiti by the EU since the recent earthquake; and what discussions he has had at EU level on provision of aid.

Michael Foster: On 18 January I attended a meeting of EU Ministers responsible for development and humanitarian aid in Brussels to discuss the support that the EU would provide to Haiti in the short, medium and long term. At the meeting, the European Commission pledged €30 million for emergency assistance, along with €100 million for early rehabilitation. It was also indicated that some €200 million more will be available for longer term reconstruction. These contributions are in addition to the €92 million pledged by individual EU countries at the same meeting.
	Since the earthquake struck on 12 January, the Secretary of State for international Development has been in regular contact with the European Union High Representative Cathy Ashton together with other European Ministers.

Sudan: Elections

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has made available to the government of  (a) Sudan and  (b) Southern Sudan to assist preparations for the forthcoming (i) elections and (ii) referendum.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not provide any funds directly to the Government of Sudan or the Government of Southern Sudan.
	However, we have supported preparations for the election since 2007 through alternative means. DFID has spent £2.95 million providing training to the media and domestic observation groups as well as technical assistance on civic education and conflict management. We have also contributed £1.5 million to the Elections Basket Fund, managed by UN Development programme (UNDP). This fund provides support to all aspects of the electoral process, and continues the focus on civic and voter education and conflict prevention. On 6 January 2010, the UK announced a further £8.05 million contribution to the Elections Basket Fund bringing our total contribution to support elections in Sudan to £12.5 million.
	The UK is looking into kind of what assistance we can provide to support the referendum due to take place in 2010. We continue to discuss the nature and co-ordination of this support with the parties in Sudan and all our international partners.

Caribbean: EU External Trade

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on individual Caribbean countries signing Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU; and what recent representations he has received on the fairness of such agreements.

Chris Bryant: The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the CARIFORUM States and the European Community (EC) and its member states was signed by 13 CARIFORUM states on 15 October 2008: Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, The Commonwealth of Dominica, The Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, The Republic of Suriname and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Republic of Guyana signed on 20 October 2008 and most recently The Republic of Haiti signed on 11 December 2009. With the signature of Haiti all 15 Caribbean states who chose to negotiate the EPA with the EC have now signed. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not received any recent representations on the fairness of this agreement.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies have plans to sign up to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 per cent. in 2010.

Chris Bryant: Yes, on 8 February 2010, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary plans to sign up the UK operations of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and our Trading Fund, FCO Services, to the 10:10 campaign and will urge our network of overseas Posts to follow suit.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) mobile telephones and  (b) Blackberrys were provided to (i) Ministers and (ii) special advisers in his Department in 2009; and at what cost to the public purse.

Chris Bryant: At the start of 2009 a total of nine Blackberries and one car phone were in operation. Ministers had a total of six Blackberries and one car phone assigned between them. Special advisers were allocated a total of three Blackberries
	After the reshuffle in June the total was reduced to four Blackberries, one mobile phone and one car phone. Ministers had two Blackberries, one mobile phone and one car phone in use between them. Special advisers were allocated a total of two Blackberries.
	Our billing cycle runs quarterly from 1 December to 30 November. Provision and usage of mobile phones for Ministers and special advisors over the 12-month period 1 December 2008 to 30 November 2009 has cost £7,263.56. This is broken down as follows:
	Provision and usage of mobile phones for Ministers: £6,246.53
	Provision and usage of mobile phones for special advisers: £1,017.03.
	December 2009 expenditure will appear on our February statement.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made on the implementation of the e-borders programme; whether the programme met its project milestones in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The project milestone for processing 100 million annualised passenger movements per year, has been met by the e-Borders Programme.
	The programme has not yet achieved the milestone for processing 60 per cent. of all passenger journeys into and out of the UK.
	Currently, e-Borders is checking between 45 and 50 per cent.(1) of all passenger movements.
	(1) This figure is subject to verification by statisticians.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the level of compliance by airlines with the data requirements of the e-borders programme; and when he expects all airlines to implement that programme.

Phil Woolas: Currently 111 carriers are providing data to the e-Borders system, covering approximately 2,454 routes.
	It is expected that all commercial airlines will be compliant by the end of December 2010, in line with the Prime Minister's statement of 20 January.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made on the inclusion of the category of other passenger information in the e-borders programme.

Phil Woolas: Other passenger information (OPI) is known within the aviation industry as passenger name record (PNR).
	OPI collection will be rolled out on a phased approach, with particular focus on higher risk routes first. The e-Borders/Semaphore system is already collecting OPI data on a voluntary basis and includes 121 carriers on 76 routes.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the cost of implementing the authority to carry element of the e-borders programme.

Phil Woolas: Following a limited trial last year and the Prime Minister's recent statement on security and border protection, we are examining the options for preventing people travelling to the United Kingdom. No recent estimate has been made of the cost of implementing an authority to carry scheme through the e-Borders Programme.

Police: Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police authority area are deployed  (a) to Iraq,  (b) to Afghanistan and  (c) elsewhere outside the UK; and how many are serving in specialist units outside their force area.

David Hanson: holding answer 25 January 2010
	 There are currently eight serving and one retired UK civilian police officers deployed to Iraq. Of the serving officers two are from the Metropolitan Police Service, two from Hertfordshire and one from each of the following areas: Cheshire, Norfolk, Northumbria and South Wales.
	There are currently 21 serving and eight retired UK civilian police officers deployed to Afghanistan. Of the serving officers 15 are from the Ministry of Defence police, one from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and one from each of the following areas: City of London, Leicestershire, Sussex, Kent and Northumbria.
	There are currently 13 serving and two retired UK civilian police officers deployed to other countries on Peace Support Operations (mainly Kosovo and Georgia). Of the serving officers seven are from the Ministry of Defence police, two from the Metropolitan Police Service and one from each of the following areas: Hertfordshire, Surrey, Cheshire and South Wales.
	In addition to the above longer term deployments, which are typically for six to 12 months, shorter term police assistance overseas is provided on a frequent basis. In 2009, the Home Office issued 943 authorisations under section 26 of the Police Act 1996 to police officers and staff from forces in England and Wales in respect of travel overseas to provide assistance to an international organisation or other body engaged outside the UK in policing activities. The majority of these authorisations were in respect of short-term assistance on a wide range of policing matters to numerous countries.
	The Home Office does not collect information on the number of officers serving in specialist units in the UK outside their force area.

Terrorism

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the date of arrest was of each individual who has been held in pre-charge detention without charge under counter-terrorism legislation for more than 14 days.

David Hanson: holding answer 26 January 2010
	To date, there have been three individuals who have been held in pre-charge detention under counter-terrorism legislation for more than 14 days and subsequently released without charge. Their date(s) of arrest were as follows:
	1. 9 August 2006
	2. 10 August 2006
	3. 10 August 2006.
	All three were released on 6 September 2006.

Terrorism: Prosecutions

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many potential prosecutions of terrorist suspects have been unable to proceed because of the expiry of the 28 day limit on detaining suspects without charge since the entry into force of that limit.

David Hanson: holding answer 26 January 2010
	The Home Office does not hold statistics which will answer this question. Investigations into, and prosecutions of, terrorism suspects are the responsibility of the police and security services and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Vetting

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department issues to police forces on the types of information to be disclosed in soft data disclosures under enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 25 January 2010
	Section 113 B (4) of Part V of the Police Act 1997 requires that in addition to criminal record information from the Police National Computer (PNC), Enhanced certificates should include any other information which a chief police officer considers might be relevant to the job application in question.
	This is usually non-conviction information deriving from local force records and is referred to as 'approved information'; chief officers are obliged to provide such information for Enhanced certificates under the Act. Where disclosed, information of this nature is considered by the police to represent a factual record of previous events that an employer in the most sensitive type of occupation should be aware of in making an employment decision affecting the most vulnerable groups of people.
	Factors that would be taken into consideration when making decisions to disclose would include, but not be restricted to, the position the individual is currently applying for, the age of the information, whether the information might be directly relevant to the assessment of the person's suitability to work with children and whether it is reasonable to disclose the information, bearing in mind the human rights of the individuals concerned.
	In making such assessments, the chief officers follow guidelines including, Home Office circular 5/2005-"Criminal Records Bureau: Local Checks by Police Forces for the Purpose of Enhanced checks" and this has been augmented by a process known as the Quality Assurance Framework. The circular makes clear that consideration has been given to a person's right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this regard there is a section in the circular which details what factors should be considered in determining relevancy.
	The Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) is a standardised approach to processing local intelligence information held by Police Force Disclosure Units and was developed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the CRB. QAF provides a step-by-step process framework that ensures that information is considered consistently and in the same way every time. Searches performed on local systems using the QAF Framework and document set produce an audit trail that can be used for quality assurance and to assure QAF compliance.

Repossession Orders

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes in  (a) Chesterfield constituency,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England have been repossessed in each year since 1979.

Ian Austin: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.

Sustainable Development

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he will publish the new guidance on sustainability and spatial strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: The policy statement on Regional Strategy along with the proposed new guidance on sustainability appraisal was published for consultation between 6 August and 30 October 2009. We are actively considering the 153 responses received and look to publish the final Policy statement and guidance in mid February.

Banks: Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason his Department's due diligence information on  (a) banks in which the Government has a shareholding or which the Government owns and  (b) on RBS assets guaranteed by the Government have not been made available to UK Financial Investments.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI) has been set up to manage the Government's investments in financial institutions at arm's length and on a commercial basis.
	UKFI's objective is to dispose of the investments in an orderly and active manner, within the context of an overarching objective of protecting and creating value for the taxpayer, paying due regard to financial stability and promoting competition.
	For the purpose of analysing detailed due diligence information to deliver the APS, the Treasury considered that advice from Treasury's legal and financial advisers was deemed sufficient and that it was not necessary or appropriate to consult UKFI on this information. Sharing such information with UKFI could have led them becoming insiders and could thus compromise their ability to manage or dispose of the shareholdings.

Banks: Pay

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether  (a) his Department and  (b) UK Financial Investments advised (i) RBS and (ii) Lloyds Banking Group on the categories of employees to be (A) included in and (B) excluded from bonus pools.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government's shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group are managed on a commercial and arm's length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI). UKFI's objective is to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder, with due regard to the maintenance of financial stability, and to act in a way that promotes competition.
	UKFI have agreed deferral and clawback terms for 2009 bonuses for both banks, who have signed up to the FSA code and G20 agreements. No decisions have yet been taken on the quantum of bonus payments.

Financial Services: EU Action

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effects of proposed EU regulations on derivatives on businesses in the corporate sector which depend on very long-term hedging practices to manage risk and uncertainty; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In December, HM Treasury and FSA published a paper called 'Reforming OTC Derivative Markets, A UK Perspective' available at:
	www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/other/reform_otc_derivatives.pdf
	This paper sets out the UK's preliminary thinking on future regulation, both globally and in the EU, on derivatives issues, including the implications for corporates.

Departmental Pay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many  (a) year-end and  (b) in-year bonuses were paid to officials in the Government Equalities Office in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in such bonuses in each such year.

Michael Jabez Foster: Since its creation on 12 October 2007 the Government Equalities Office has awarded the following staff bonuses.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of bonuses  Total of bonuses (£) 
			 2007-08 25 37,787 
			 2008-09 19 28,400 
			 2009-10 67 58,850 
		
	
	The Government Equalities does not differentiate between in-year or year end bonuses.

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the  (a) job title,  (b) salary range and  (c) sponsoring public body was of each job vacancy posted on the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway that was only advertised on the private part of the website in the last three months.

Angela Smith: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 2 June 2009,  Official Report, column 422W.